Clarke's call is for action, not words

Greg Buckle, Chennai

AUSTRALIAN skipper Michael Clarke says talk is cheap so he won't be encouraging his men to stir the pot in the media before the four-Test series against India starts next Friday in Chennai.

Cricket's hall-of-famers Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath were fond of marking their territory on the eve of a series by putting a target on an opposing player's head, while India's tormentor Harbhajan Singh has celebrated his recall to the Test squad by saying he wants to teach the Australians a lesson about how cricket's played in India.

''It's no good us making statements or comments and not backing them up,'' Clarke said on Friday when asked why his side lacked the aggression of previous teams led by Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting.

''I'd rather people say less and do more. To me it's not about what you say, it's about what you do. That's our goal, to perform well on the field.''

The 89-Test veteran recalled making his debut in Bangalore in 2004.

That side included Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist, Warne, McGrath and Jason Gillespie, all heavyweights in Australian cricket. Ponting was injured and Gilchrist led Australia to its first series triumph in India since 1969-70.

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''Seven or eight of the Australian players when I made my debut were as good as any seven or eight players in the world,'' Clarke said.

''When you look at the team now, we're a lot less experienced. We know for us to have success we have to perform well as a team.

''It's not about the individual player making 200 or taking five wickets. That's not going to give us the success we want over a long period of time.

''We need every player to be performing and not rely on certain individuals because we haven't got the great individuals right now that we had when I first played for Australia.''

Clarke carries a massive reputation as Test cricket's No. 2-ranked batsman. But as he points out, he struggled in India in 2010 when he averaged 8.75. ''Reputation is irrelevant,'' he said.

Clarke says he's a fan of the decision review system and supports the drive to use technology, but India's opposition to it means it won't be used in the four-Test series.

''If we use it [in India], great. If we don't, great,'' Clarke said.

''It doesn't bother me as captain of the Australian team and it doesn't bother any of the Australian players.

''I would like to see it consistently used. I'd like us to either say yes we're going to use it in all the Test matches, in all the one-dayers or we aren't.

''The DRS has been fantastic in the times I've used it. The game of cricket is trying to get decisions as consistent as we possibly can and I think technology has helped that.''

■A massive cloud of smoke swept across Chennai's Guru Nanak College Ground on Saturday as a fire broke out behind the Australian change rooms during their tour game against India A. Play continued and no one was injured. The fire broke out in a shed thought to contain building materials.